Former Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis supporter, Republican State Rep. Randy Fine, blasted his governor and switched his 2024 presidential endorsement to former President Donald Trump in a Washington Times opinion piece Monday.
“I got jumped by a Nazi in Florida. On video. Two weeks ago,” Fine wrote. “In Ron DeSantis’ Florida, that’s no big deal.”
In the piece, Fine said he was the only Jewish member of the Florida Legislature and “championed” DeSantis during his time as governor, supporting bills to take on Disney and end child mutilations in the Sunshine State.
“Every piece of legislation you hear him talk about regarding Jewish issues is one I wrote,” Fine said. “I love his words. His actions have broken my heart.”
Fine said DeSantis has not followed up on building a Holocaust memorial that Fine helped fund five years ago and did nothing after a group of “Nazis” assaulted a Jewish rabbi and took over a highway overpass.
“Eighteen months ago, my Nazi ‘friends’ showed up in Florida,” Fine wrote. “They assaulted a Rabbi. They beat up a Jew who yelled back at one of their protests. They commandeered highway overpasses to illegally hang banners saying, ‘Gas the Jews.’ They have tormented Jews at their homes with filth. Until a few weeks ago, Gov. DeSantis said almost nothing. And worse, he did almost nothing.”
Fine contrasted DeSantis’ inaction to the achievements and actions of Trump as president.
“Donald Trump didn’t just talk about moving the Embassy. He did it. Donald Trump didn’t just talk about Israeli security. He green-lit them annexing the Golan. Donald Trump didn’t just talk about peace. He signed the Abraham Accords. He deserved a Nobel Peace Prize for it,” Fine wrote. “When he was President, Islamic countries weren’t attacking Jews over there; neo-Nazis were not attacking Jews over here because they feared him.
"The past two weeks have made me realize our choice as Jews is simple. We can vote for the governor who says all the right things, or we can vote for the president who actually does them. When it comes to action, Donald Trump has never let us down.”
DeSantis campaign press secretary Bryan Griffin told the Miami Herald that Fine’s statements were “nothing more than shameful political theater” and that DeSantis is taking a number of actions in the wake of Israel’s war on the Hamas terrorist organization.
“When it comes to standing in defense of Israel, he’s always been a leader who acts and delivers,” Griffin said in a statement to the publication.
Charles Kim ✉
Charles Kim, a Newsmax general assignment writer, is an award-winning journalist with more than 30 years in reporting on news and politics.
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